This is some terribly unfortunate news. Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his NYC apartment at the age of 46. Details are still coming forth, but it definitely looks like drugs were involved in his death. Just last May, we learned how Hoffman detoxed for 10 days to get clean from heroin and prescription drugs. Hoffman was very open during a 60 Minutes episode about how his pill habit had carried on for decades, but he only did heroin for about a week before realizing he needed help. Within a few weeks, Hoffman detoxed and was back to work.

In a sad ending to this story, Hoffman has apparently lost the battle with his addictions. These are only the initial details, but he was found this morning at his home with a needle in his arm. That detail is slightly gruesome but incredibly tragic as well. Hoffman was a riveting presence onscreen, and this is such a waste:

Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead of an apparent drug overdose – in the bathroom with a hypodermic needle still in his arm – inside a Greenwich Village home on Sunday morning, cops said.

A personal assistant found Hoffman’s body in an apartment at 35 Bethune St. and called 911 around 11:30 a.m, sources said.

Cops are at the scene and are investigating, sources said.

In 2006, Hoffman publicly admitted that he nearly succumbed to substance abuse graduating from NYU’s drama school, but got sober in rehab.

“It was all that (drug as alcohol), yeah. I was anything I could get my hands on…I liked it all,” he told 60 Minutes as the time.

Last year, Hoffman reportedly checked himself into rehab again for ten days after relapsing in 2012.

TMZ said he began using prescription pills, then snorted heroin for about a week before realizing he needed help.

Hoffman leaves behind three children and an extremely prolific career. Although Hoffman struggled with substance abuse in his private life, he was (by all accounts) nothing less than a total professional on film sets. He’s won an Oscar (for Capote) and delivered so many wonderful performances in films like Scent of a Woman, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Young fans know him best as Plutarch Heavensbee in the Hunger Games movies (Mockingjay 2 hasn’t wrapped yet). He will be missed by all who were exposed to his great talent.

Update:People Magazine has more sad details here. The family has also released a statement: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone. This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers.”

Update: Lionsgate, the studio behind the Hunger Games movies, has issued a statement as well: Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We’re very fortunate that he graced our Hunger Games family. Losing him in his prime is a tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Philip’s family.” At the time of his death, Hoffman still had seven days of filming to complete his role in the Mockingjay films.

Update: The NYT reports that Hoffman was found by his good friend, David Katz, who was quoted as saying, “I saw him last week, and he was clean and sober, his old self. I really thought this chapter was over.”

Comments are Closed

This is an unbelievable tragedy and a true losst the acting profession. As someone who very rarely gets emotional over celebrities, I was positively apoplectic at the news of his passing. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends at this very difficult time.

Took the words out of my mouth. He was mesmerizing onscreen, I’ve seen him steal scenes and even entire movies. His acting was simply a cut above. Many statuettes were to come his way, what a loss to the acting world and to us fans.. RIP.

So unbelievable and tragic. Oddly enough, hubby and I were watching a rerun of “Along Came Polly” last night, and he commented on what a great actor he thought Hoffman was. Didn’t know until I told him about his battle with heroin and other drugs. Sadly, I guess he didn’t beat it after all. RIP, Mr. Hoffman…you will be greatly missed.

I read that his wife and three children were a block away from his apartment at the playground. His wife drove to the apartment, left the kids in the car, and raced up to the building and said she had to see him. Very tragic and something that the two oldest children will likely remember for the rest of their lives.

This hits a little too close to home for me. So sad that he is gone, but angry that he wasn’t thinking of his wife and children and the grief they will live with for the rest of their lives because of his choices. What a waste of beautiful talent.

So senseless. When the story came out that he was in rehab, I thought, not a minute too soon because this man is not in any condition to be playing around with hard drugs like heroin (not that anyone is, but he was not in good physical shape). The Mail says he had 49 bags of heroin and 20 used needles so it just looks like he was on a binge that he couldn’t have survived. I feel terrible for his children and partner and I am very sorry he lost the battle. :*(

I’m really shocked. It always surprises me when the death of someone you didn’t know personally affects you so much. Maybe because he was such a nice, humble person and extraordinary talented actor. What a loss to the world and especially to his family and his three little children. Devastating.

And on that note, I’m going to say it since nobody else has. Are we sure this was his doing? Probably impossible to prove, but his role in The Master was pretty clearly L. Ron Hubbard. I know this sounds like crazy conspiracy nut stuff, which I normally don’t buy into, but… They’ve done it before. Does anyone know if he was being harassed, or if they tried to keep him from doing that movie?? Sorry for the wingnuttery, but it was the first thought that popped into my head.

The rest of us while we were shocked about PSH; couldn’t think he may have been killed. i think you could be right, but you could be wrong too. Maybe if he had dealings with that type of organization, maybe they Didn’t want him to star in the Hunger Games (I Didn’t want to go see it myself). i won’t elaborate about it furthur. But I want to say that: when you say its a crazy conspiracy theory it Might Not be one…

Thank you so much for saying this!! I am still in so much shock and genuinely and utterly saddened by this incredibly awful news. This man was so talented, and really, a genius as an actor. He was perfection in the ‘Talented Mr.Ripley’. What will it take for there to be studies from institutions like NIH to battle this disease called Addiction? How many more loved ones will it have to claim until it is treated and regarded as such to give effective help to people afflicted by this disease?!

R.I.P. Philip Seymore Hoffman. Too soon, you were taken from us. You were clearly loved and adored. We promise to remember you for your talents and not the way you were found. May more awareness and interest be drawn to treating the disease that claimed you, and may we continue to celebrate your talents in remembering your much enjoyed performances via film. You are already missed.

@Vanessa I know what you’re saying. Talented people are lost in a variety of ways. When they are lost to drug addiction, the manner of death can often overshadow their work in life. People really remember those kinds of deaths. The fact that there are others on this thread saying Hoffman’s death reminds them of Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, and John Belushi seems to bear this out. I mean, one of my favorite artists is Elvis Presley and while some remember him for his tremendous talent, others describe him as a drug addict who died on the toilet. There are others who may feel you are being insensitive but I just think of you as being realistic. It’s just really sad that you’re probably right.

While most might argue the comment is insensetive I also back it being just harsh reality. Though, I personally will remember his amazing talent there will also be the tragic and cautionary tale of how drugs have brought down another person.
Though we see a man who made us laugh, cry, and feel deep emotions while getting lost in his characters we can never know what demons were beneath the surface and his struggles.

At the end of the day it’s a senseless death of a father of 3 who entertained us all.

Oh man. I just woke up and I’m watching breaky telly and they showed PSH’s 2005 Oscar acceptance speech and the camera lovingly hovered over darling Heath Ledger’s face, in a spooky prescience of two people who would leave us before they were ready.

Joaquin and Heath were good friends. There were pap pictures of them together shortly before Heath died. He was also in The Master with PSH. There is a set of pictures from the Oscars with Heath, PSH, Joaquin with Clooney and Gyllenhaal, standing in circle, laughing. It’s so sad to know what happened to both of them. They looked so happy and healthy back then. I hope that Joaquin, who lost not only his brother but all of them, to drugs, won’t ever even stand in the close proximity to any hard drugs.

So sad. I really liked him as an actor, and his death sounds like he was someone who struggled a lot with personal demons. But I think he was probably a really decent human (I didn’t know him or anything, but we read enough gossip around here that I think we get a sense of these things).

I was thinking that’s a horrible way to die, but then I wondered if you feel it or realize you are dying when you die like that. I hope he didn’t suffer, maybe when you die like that you shoot the needle and it happens so fast that you don’t even know.
Very morbid thoughts. This is terrible and morbid news.

True. I made that assumption based on his history of using heroin and the fact he took the drug intravenously. Of course it could’ve been something else, but when you consider the fact he relapsed recently it’s hard not to draw those conclusions.

This just breaks my heart. I was literally in tears when I read the news alert on my phone. He was so talented. The first time I ever saw him in a movie he just blew me away, and he became my very favorite actor right there and then, and I was slightly obsessed with him for a while after that. So tragic. I can’t believe I’m so sad over a person I never actually knew, but I am.

My son and I were just talking yesterday about how amazing Heath Leger was as an actor, and specifically his role as the Joker. Now PSH has left us all as well. Our most talented actors seem to also harbor the worst demons…perhaps that is how they can connect to other parts of humanity and tap into themselves with such realism.
Three bright stars, gone but not forgotten. My deepest condolences to his family and friends. RIP

He was a truly great actor. Incredible talent. We never saw “him” on the screen, only the full adaptation of the character he portrayed. Just say no to drugs, they’ll eventually kill you and the magnificent person you are. RIP.

This is incredibly accurate and really brings out why he was so special. He wasn’t really a personality (in the sense of someone like Jennifer Lawrence who is talented but well known for her off-screen personality too) he allowed for his work to speak for itself and bring out heart-wrenching perfomances.

I understand he and his long time SO recently parted ways. I am so sorry for her and their children. It’s an incredibly sad the day that you learn that love doesn’t conquer all. I’m feeling very emotional about this as the former Mr. DreamyK is a drug addict and it’s bringing back some very dark memories.

RIP. You left this world too soon, PSH. F*%$ drugs and the lives they take and families they destroy.

I am so very sad at this. An incredible actor. It is ironic that the really great actors are often the most sensitive, and though their sensitivity allows them to explore and express human nature, it is also the very quality which makes them so unable to deal with the vicissitudes of life. Rest well Mr. Hoffman, rest well.

Yes, thank you. I heard a radio interview with him in recent years and he was so eloquent about so many things, including his addictions. I remember being struck by how incredibly sensitive he was, his vulnerability came through so clearly along with his humor and intelligence.

PSH was so talented. He will leave a legacy of great performances that people will enjoy for decades to come.

Strangely, my first thought was to watch “Along Came Polly” because he made me laugh so much in that movie, he was hysterical.

@Shellybean: I felt that way when River Phoenix died. I had loved him since I was 13. I Still think about him at times. They touched our lives in some way, whether we knew them personally or not. I feel that it simply makes us human to be deeply saddened that they are no longer on this earth, it feels…wrong.

blablablabla, soldiers give their lives in combat every day. kids die of hunger and cancer. people fight for one more day when having a terminal illness. people, he was an actor! his talent was to step in front of a camera or an audience and pretend he was somebody else.
his kids were waiting in the playground around the corner for him and he decided to get high. ? get it together, man. They are the ones who’ll pay the price. it’s a vicious circle.

There is some truth to this…and if he were a mother, the comments would definitely turn more toward his responsibility. In any case, those poor kids. Terrible to lose a father when you are so young, no matter how it happens.

Had to wake up so early for work. Booooo He is an individual. That is all. Married partner, partner, children. NO. Him. If you cannot understand that, I cannot make you. Wow some lack wisdom from experience that it’s almost embarrassing~

I agree, I feel for the wife and kids left behind. it will haunt them forever. going that route is a selfish cowardly way of dealing with your problems. you got money to buy drugs, you got money to seek the help that you need. I bet his dealer isn’t losing any sleep over just another guy who bought stuff from him and it ending badly. there is plenty more.
you surround yourself with ducks, you can’t soar with the eagles.

Exactly….addiction takes hold of a person and is extremely complex. Which is EXACTLY why 10 days of rehab will never help a person live with an addiction one day at a time. Addiction is a disease, and he is not responsible for his addiction. What he is responsible for is staying in rehab for only 10 days, when, to be frank, he had the money to stay in for weeks or months. Denial is the hallmark of addiction, and going to rehab for 10 days is a symbol of deep denial. It is tragic for him, and so sad for his friends and his audience….but it will haunt his children forever.

Well said. I’m was astonished at the comments (not here but other sites) saying they had no sympathy because he brought his death upon himself, it was his choice, etc. Mindblowing how clueless and insensitive people can be.

I heard he had 23 years of sobriety before this happened. That’s scary.

I loved him so much as an actor but I can’t help but feel angry at the selfishness of an addict who is a parent. The suffering he has now inflicted on these kids is beyond me. Same goes for Gandolfini and many more….

Consider he may have taken prescription drugs for a legitimate reason and fallen into an old habit he thought was long gone. It happens, and the relapse is often harder to deal with than the initial addiction. Also consider he was not in his right mind once the addiction took over….

You want an “unhealthy” life, you should’ve met my great uncle. He, along with his brother (granddad) and sister had a hard life and he especially didn’t make it any easier on himself. He lived in banjaxed caravans and mobile homes for most of his life (as in would get damaged by storms and he would refuse to fix them), refused to let social workers improve his accommodation until nearly the end, had a sporadic relationship with soap and was retrieved from a ditch on more than one occasion.
HE lived to be 96!

So tragic. Wonderful actor, but more importantly the father of three young children who was by all accounts a very decent man. If it’s true he only spent 10 days in rehab earlier this year for heroin and prescription drugs, the industry really needs to take addiction more seriously. That’s simply not long enough… continuing his work should have been contingent on a longer stay.

He was amazing, talented, and my absolute favorite actor – we just lost one of the greatest American actors we’ve ever had. I had hoped after his last rehab stint and being so open about his troubles, that he had been sober again. I’m heartbroken, and I can’t imagine what his family is going through.

I hope people learn from this and the dangers of addiction, especially addicts (no matter what kind; drug, alcohol (like myself)). Relapse is dangerous, and your addiction leads you into a worse place every time it happens.

Very sad news about an incredible actor. Odd that just yesterday evening Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “That Smell” was played on my classic rock radio station. I almost cried thinking about all the talented musicians and actors who’d died from heroin. Today it’s PSH. So sorry for his fans, friends and family.

Oxycodone is the prescription variety opiate of Heroin, so don’t try that either! People who are prescribed “pain killers”, 80% become neurologically addicted.

The brain actually creates pain sensations in the body to drive a person to feel a strong “survival” need for the opiate. When a person can no longer procure a prescription, this leads to the street variety of oxycodone, which is Heroine. So I repeat, don’t “try” prescription opiates either!!

To say I’m gutted at this news is an understatement. He really was one of the few actors I really admired. Jesus. I would always look forward to seeing him in anything he appeared in. RIP Philip, you really were one of the greats.

Once again, the seduction and merciless grip of drugs has taken a gifted artist from us. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was easily one of my favorite actors. Hoffman looked like us. A regular guy with the usual lumps and bumps of ordinary people. Lacking the preternatural good looks that so many actors use as a distraction from their actual level of talent, Hoffman had no such crutch. What we saw was art without training wheels; character studies without window dressing; an honest glimpse into humanity. He will be greatly missed by all, but none more than his family and friends.

I’m very sad to hear this of course especially for his small children, but shocked? Not even a little bit. Not even one tiny ounce of shock. The stories and blinds that had been circulating were just too numerous. This was coming. Addiction is a merciless disease and can take anyone. So sad his treatment didn’t hold.

I’ll agree he was an incredible actor, he really was one of the few that weren’t in it for the money but for the actual craft. That being said, (and I know I’m totally going to get flack for this), his death is not a tragedy. It’s beyond hard for his family, however, this is about as much of a tragedy as someone who dies playing Russian Roulette. I was raised by an alcoholic and spent 14 years in 2 (7 years each) different relationships with addicts (and I’m only 34). Trust me when I say they know the risks, and their family, we know the risks as well. Is it sad, absolutely. But at the end of the day this is what happens when you willingly choose to use. And although addiction is a disease, he CHOSE to use in that moment. Portraying it as anything else just enables an addict.

sorry Hunter but I disagree. If a person is racing a motorcycle at 120kms an hour and smacks into a pole, is that a tragedy? No. He was doing something completely irresponsible and knew what could happen as it’s impossible to control that situation, but CHOSE to do it anyways. I’ve spent years with addicts, attended countless NA family meetings, read so much literature you’d be amazed, been through years of therapy and I can tell you: it absolutely is enabling. The minute we pretent “oh how horrible”, “it’s so sad, they couldn’t control it”, is the exact same minute an addict will use that as an excuse to use. Trust me, my addict did it FOR YEARS. Addicts can absolutely control their addiction, the deciding factor is if they want and choose to get better. Plain and simple. I’ve lost 4 people to overdoses in my life and they all could have lived a healthy life if they wanted. They just chose to not to do the work.

Addiction is so very much more than just a “choice.” No one honestly chooses to willingly potentially lose their loved ones, their jobs, their homes, their lives. It is a disease that hijacks the brain from feeling the simplest of pleasures. The drugs (including alcohol) prohibit the brain from creating dopamine, as they ‘create’ their own version of it. Without the drugs, the person cannot feel, so they take more, establishing a vicious cycle that is extraordinarily hard to break.

the issue here though is not the neuropathways that are created (and I understand that). The question is if they chose to get clean. If an addict choses to get clean (which PSH did at one point by all accounts), then they understand that reaching out for support, doing the therapy to find the root cause, having a support system help you work through the issues at hand. Is it easy going through those issues? HELL NO! I’ve had YEARS of therapy and am only dealing with stuff now. That being said, he knew what he had to do to stay clean and decided not to in that one split moment, and (unfortunately, as usual) lost the gamble.

Coudn’t agree more. But every such death attracts a bunch of self-righteous people, who would tell you that from “their experience” addicts chose to die and therefore their struggle with addiction can’t be regarded as tragedy. Case in question – the dumb jerk Jared Padalecki, who decided to go on twitter and say “Sad isn’t a word I’d use to describe a 46 year old man throwing his life away to drugs. “Senseless” is more like it. “Stupid”.

A tragedy is something that causes strong feelings of sadness or regret. Tragedies (in terms of a play) often involve the downfall of the main character and cause feelings of pity by the audience. Any death that blindsides people qualifies as a tragedy. Your personal experiences with addiction doesn’t change the definition of the word and its tragic that your experience made you feel the need to try and trivialize what others are feeling.

@ redsoxgirl
I don’t see how the two, ‘choice’ and ‘tragedy’, are in any way mutually exclusive. Someone makes a poor choice and the consequences are tragic.

I don’t think anyone here is excusing his drug use, and people expressing their grief is not enabling, arguing that it is according solely to *your* experiences is actually irrelevant: He’s dead, he can’t be enabled further. Can you stop policing peoples grief now?

Addicts don’t willing choose????? Would you say people with lifelong diseases choose their diseases? Would you condemn people that get any disease and tell them they earned it through habits? Somewhere in you life I guarantee you’re practicing habit that causes cancer or some other disease. No one lives a clean & and completely healthy life, including you. ALL people deserve to die of their habitual caused diseases by your standards. Heroin is one of the most highly addictive drugs out there. Very few addicts actually escape it clutches. You may want to read upon it before casting judging. Also, while alcoholism is a disease it has much higher recovery rates than heroin. Comparing the two is like comparing, a demon with the Devil. Both are bad, but one is almost impossible to defeat.

I hate to beak it to you but I’ve dealt with all addiction: alcohol, cocaine, meth, heroin. Its not like I don’t know the realities of the disease here. I know there are addiction issues in my family so I have CHOSEN to never try drugs. Call me jaded or a bitch, either is fine. But live with an addict for enough years and trust me. Your sympathy gets lost pretty damn quick. I can say I lost mine when a good friend decided to drive while high and killed not only himself but his son’s best friend who was 6.

Red Sox girl, your experience is not the be all, end all, nor does it give you license to assume and judge every situation as the same as yours. My parents were both addicts – they met in an institution. This is how I came about. My (birth) Mom ran off by the time I was 1 and my dad carried on being an addict (and all the crap that goes with it) until they locked him up in the State Penitentiary when I was 16 years old. It was a reality of DFACS, being placed in other homes, abuse and witnessing & experiencing things no child should ever see. I can assure you that I am just as intimate with addiction as you are and can tell you that you & I couldn’t be further apart in our thoughts on addictions. Then again, My beliefs are formed from things I learned by spending my childhood going to Alanon & Alateen meetings; as well as holding my Dad’s hand in AA/NA meetings in his small bouts of sobriety. Did you not attend those meetings? If you haven’t, it might help you cope now with what you’ve experienced. Alanon is great.

I am so shocked and my brain is struggling to accept that PSH has gone. I’ve seen him in multiple movies which I loved but the one that has touched my heart the most was Love Liza. What an incredible energy, an unbelievable actor and intense presence on screen. You are one of a kind, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and will always be missed.

I’ve been looking at the comments around the web and there are literally thousands of them. All with glowing praise of his talent. I wonder if he truly understood how much he was appreciated? What demons must over take one when one is alone in one’s apartment in the company of only silence? Could he not hear the adulation of the world just outside his window? Terribly, terribly sad when one thinks about the loss and the struggling actors starving for just a portion of what he had.

I don’t think it works like that really – no amount of fame and outside adulation can content with the voice inside your head. In fact, it may only make it worse. Fame never made anyone happy on its own.

I’m genuinely sad. He was always good and unforgettable in the movies he was in. I just watched Catching Fire last night and was thrilled to see him as Plutarch Heavensbee. He’s an integral figure in Mockinjay, how are they going to replace him?

According to the studio, he’d completed all of his scenes for Mockingjay 1 and had 7 days of filming for Mockingjay 2. So they’re going to have to get creative in post, because they can’t reshoot or loop (re-record dialogue that isn’t clear) any of his scenes. I imagine they will have to cut his remaining lines or rewrite them for other characters.

So awful. He was immensely talented. Even though he wasn’t movie-star handsome, when he was on screen, he OWNED it and you couldn’t take your eyes off him. What a huge loss for the dramatic world, and an infinitely greater loss for his family.

I don’t think you are being crass. Winter is especially hard for addicts (at least I’ve heard many people echo this sentiment around support groups and tables), especially in colder climates and especially after the holidays in Jan and Feb. Many people relapse around this time andany people say that they think about using again more frequently around this time.

I heard the news on the radio just after dropping my kids off at school and it came as a shock. He was one of a kind and will be sorely missed. His passing is going to loom large over this year’s Oscars.

When the news banner came up on my phone about his death, the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “What?!?!” I’m still shocked. I’ve been a huge PSH fan for years now. I just saw him a few weeks ago in “Catching Fire”. He was an incredible actor, amazingly talented. He always stole the show for me. Prayers for his family. I read that he had three young kids and a longtime love and my heart broke. Addiction is a cold, hard b***h. RIP, man.

Truly an irreplaceable talent has gone. It sounds callous but when someone this amazing dies I think “Why him, why not someone I don’t like/care about so much?” It does seem sometimes that only the truly brilliant ones die young, but I know it’s not really true, they just leave a bigger dent in the heart, so sad for his family and children especially.

I know he had so many amazing lead roles, and the Oscar for Truman is what all the news feeds will mention, but I will probably remember him as the guy who could turn up for a couple of scenes and walk away with the whole movie seemingly effortlessly (Next Stop Wonderland, Happiness, the aforementioned Along Came Polly, Boogie Nights, the list goes on). He made everything infinitely better by his presence. It kills me I didn’t get to see him on stage. He was a genius, and I don’t use that word ever. So sad, I hope he is at peace now.

This awful news made me cry. He was so gifted, so brilliant and, by all accounts, a very sweet, humble guy. What a horrible tragedy. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman ♥

What an awful day !! When The news banner came up on my phone I was bewildered , it was quite a shock and I was already very shaken cause my grandma went into cardiac arrest and is now in Hospital and might not pass the night . Such a waste , the way we can destroy ourselves . Rest in Peace PSH ! When I read the news the one image of him that came to me was him in the boar that rock and smiling. I will be terribly missed

Wow, I didn’t read your comment before I posted mine… but my own grandma’s memorial was yesterday, and her end was long and painful because of cigarettes. I too learned from a banner on my phone… I’ll be thinking of your grandma; very sorry to hear you’re facing this pain, but you’re not alone; I’m right there with ya. And yes. Preventable deaths are the worst… hope this is a wake-up call for some.

Neurologically, opiate prescription pills are insidious and addictive. This is an epidemic in our culture; venom is disguised as “medicine”. The pharmaceutical industry is an insatiable monster that is literally eating it’s victims.

I’m not taking this opportunity to rant about our culture, instead, i’m deeply saddened that an amazing human being lost the typically insurmountable battle against addiction. Even the governor of Vermont has said that the pharmaceutical industry is over-prescribing and creating this scourge.

Even when PSH had the courage to get off the street variety of oxycodone, or Heroine, he had doctors to maintain prolonged level of addiction; the cycle ended in an overdose. My prayers are with his family and with all who fall into this legalized quagmire.

and PS
I spent last summer interviewing homeless men, and over 90% were either recovered or active addicts whose addiction began during or shortly after military service. People look down on them, but they served our country and lost the battle against substance.

I just flew home this afternoon after my grandma’s funeral, so this news is hitting me especially hard. She lived a long life but succumbed to the drawn-out, painful consequences of smoking for most of it… and he’s half her age and could have otherwise had decades (and more iconic roles) ahead of him.

Addiction is a beast, and it causes so much devastation — the timing and my own personal grief is really highlighting that for me. So at the risk of turning this into a PSA:

If you have a problem, SEEK HELP. Nothing is more important than sticking around for your family, and no detox or rehab is worse than the pain they’ll suffer.

His death is tragic but it is NOT a tragedy. Addiction is something that you have to fight every single day of your life, but it IS conquerable and treatable. You have to not just be willing to fight it but to actually FIGHT it. No one can fight it for you; it is far more than just a physical dependance on a chemical substance~it is the mental state and behaviors associated WITH the physical dependance that must be controlled. What a waste of one of the finest actors to ever set foot on a movie set~I hope that his family can find peace and comfort as quickly as possible.

Addiction recovery is complex, no? Success is 99% the mystery of Grace along with calculated tried and true combinations of abstinence, tough love and hard work. I’m recovered sober high and dry for almost two decades, and I sometimes actually take this for granted. I didn’t have cash or insurance for any kind of rehab. Sometimes I’m sober conceited, but when I hear about talented and loved people like Phillip SH, I am staggered by the nature of the disease. Addiction can take anyone, no matter how intelligent or loved. There but for the Grace of God go any one of us!
I’m taking university courses, and stories like this make me motivated to be part of the solution.

Spot on, phlyfiremama. He had so many resources at his disposal, people he could have called when the urge struck, before or after he bought the heroin, right up until the moment he stuck that needle in his arm. Addiction is insidious, but he had the tools to combat it, and in the end, decided one last high was worth it.
It wasn’t worth it.
RIP.

God this is just so completely heartbreaking. I was just in the middle of submitting some work on my computer when I decided to take a little CB break for fun so imagine my total shock and sadness upon seeing this pop up as the first story

I would be remiss not to mention how also completely infuriating Phillip’s entirely preventable tragic end is. Here is a man who was by all accounts a total professional, loving father and otherworldly gifted actor who is now added to a long list of unspeakably wonderful artists who have left this world all to soon at the hand of dr*gs. I’ve also lost not one but THREE people close to me in my personal life to substance abuse and it makes me infuriated! There is NO reason for this. I won’t name the other professional talents that had gifted our world with music, acting and art until they also succumbed to the grips of narcotics/alcohol in just the past 3 or 4 years out of respect to this incredible man, but my heart continues to break for the senseless deaths of every single one.

RIP Mr. Hoffman ❤ ‘Cold Mountain’ and ‘The Master’ were already at the top of my all time favorite films list-largely because of you-but now I will treasure them all the more. God bless.

He poured so much into all his roles. It felt like everything was willed out of some deep, dark place inside of him for a lot of them too. I have to wonder what demons he had chasing him. His death is a huge loss. Such a talent.

Honestly think this is one of the worst actor loses in years. Shocked. Heroin is a biatch to kick and he unfortunately lost the battle. I had a friend that worked with him on a charity cause, said he was one of nicest actors he had worked with and was introspective and thoughtful. Bless his family and friends

WOW, crazy, insane, in total shock!!
Last night my wife and I were watching MI3. He was so bad *ss in that movie!!
Just the first 2 minutes of that movie I get shivers every time!!
I f*cking hate drugs, they took so many good people from us!!
Singers, Actors, Writers, family members and friends all gone in there prime of life,
F.U. drugs!!!

I’m not show how to explain the feelings caused by the passing of men I have never known, only to say that I was/am in awe of their talent and passion for their craft and lengths at which those closest to them have said they had gone to try and beat their demons.

He succumbed to the “just one more time” syndrome of addiction. The dirty little secret of addiction, the “I can handle this” invulnerable mindset of addiction. That he was working, busy and by all accounts successful and confident goes to show just how insidious and deceptive drugs can be. Perhaps he had been clean and sober for so long that his tolerance had been compromised. That a dose he had been able to handle in the past was too powerful this time. We won’t ever know the real truth.

Let his legacy live on in film, let his untimely and, yes, tragic end remind us of how precious and fragile life is. So many people struggle with demons masked by a facade of “got it togetherness”. If only we can embrace faults and weaknesses as much as we celebrate unbridled success. So that those that seek the pill, bottle, needle whatever their numbing comfort choice is, can find help and support, and acceptance and redemption. And a way to live.

PSH is among the finest actors ever. Capote, Mr Ripley, The Master, Doubt, Pirate Radio. Every film he made was improved by his his talents. This is so sad. It’s a terrible loss to his family and loved ones as well as the to the world of theater & film.
This isn’t the time to judge him for his demons or failings. Say a prayer for his family and think of how he enriched our lives with his performances.
R.I.P.

Unreal! my son texted me when the story first broke. i have no words-my heart is sad. Oh we all have our favorite characters and to this day usually in reference to Tom Cruise i always say “tommy-tommy-tommy” as Freddie Miles tauntingly did in The Talent Mr. Ripley…
RIP the Talented Mr Hoffman-God you were so good we miss you already:(

Extremely sad news. I could hardly believe when I read this yesterday. He was extremely talented and one of the few actors that could make me watch a movie just because he was on it. May he rest in peace.

Reading the comments from his peers in the industry I thought Jim Carrey (oddly enough) said it best.
“Dear Philip, a beautiful beautiful soul. For the most sensitive among us the noise can be too much. Bless your heart.”

Heroin and oxycontin, two deadly, addictive drugs that destroy lives if in the vise-like grip of drug addiction to them. He was brilliant as an actor. I feel for his little children and long-term partner.

This made me surprisingly upset. Not only because I loved Philip Seymour Hoffman as an actor, but also because it’s coming close to the year anniversary of my Dad dying from cirrhosis of the liver due to his lifelong alcohol addiction so it stirred a lot of emotions. He was only 58. My views on addiction have really changed and evolved since his death. Addiction is a complicated issue, and people struggling with it deserve support and empathy, not disdain or scorn. PSH’s passing this young is truly a great loss.

I’m sorry, Nikki. My uncle died the same way as FSH – of a heroin OD, and he was found with the needle in his arm too. I was very young when it happened and it’s not something a family ever recovers from. You’re right – addiction is very complicated.

I saw PSH in “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” several years ago on Broadway, and he was amazing. It was an honor to see him live. He was just so incredible to watch. “Flawless,” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” are great performances too.

Just watched Catching Fire Saturday night and was commenting to my husband about what a superb actor he is. Very very much a shame. Someone on CNN said, “we’ve been robbed,” and I hardly think there’s a truer statement.

It’s really heartbreaking for his children too and this as Cooper’s on the cusp of adolesence. Took it as an opportunity to remind my children of the dangers of drugs, but such a shame he had to be the example.